Mining machine



April 15, 1952 l A. ANDERSON I 2,592,996

MINING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet l F/c tf ATTORN YSApril 15, 1952 A. ANDERSON 2,592,996

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MINING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet s INVENTOR 14/ exanaerfllzdersofl ATTORNE S Ap 1952 A. ANDERSON 2,592,996

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HUUUUUUHUF] ATTORN S A. ANDERSON MINING MACHINE April 15, 1952 6Sheefcs-Shget 5 Filed June 22, 1949 INVENTOR Alexander 14/708/60/7 gwg@w April 1952 A. ANDERSON 2,592,996

MINING MACHINE I Filed June 22, 1949 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 A TORN YS PatentedApr. 15, 1952 MINING MACHINE:

Alexander Anderson, Mother-well; Scotland, as-* signor to Anderson,Boyes&"-Company Limited, Mother-well, Scotland, at companyOf'lfh'eZUilitd. Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland:

AppIicEt'i'onJ un'e' ZZ, 1949; SerialNo. 100,680 In; Great'Britain January" 28? 1949 --5 Claims.

, l I 1 This-invention relates toimp'rovementsiin-m in ing machinesadapted more particularly for the longwall working of minerals such assalts, shales, and possibly also certain lines of coal.

A mining machine according to the invention includes a main travelingunit provided with a main rotary cutting wheel, and a loader unitarticulated to the rear end of the main unit and provided with atransversely-operating loader conveyor and with a supplementary rotarycutting wheel.

The cutting wheels extend uni-laterally with respect to'the maintraveling and loader units, are mounted for rotation about substantiallyhorizontal parallel axes, and are arranged to cut the lower portion andtheupper portion, respectively, of a seam, the upper cutting wheel, i.e., the cutting wheel of the loader unit, being vertically adjustable.

The main unit may include a haulage gear section, the driving motorsection, and a gear-head section, forming the forward, intermediate, andrear sections, respectively, of the main unit, the gear-head containingtransmission gearing for driving the main cutting wheel.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying diagrammatic drawingsin which Figs. 1-3 are a side elevation, a plan view, and an endelevation, respectively, of one embodiment of mining machine accordingto the invention. Figs. 4-6 are views corresponding to Figs. 1-3,respectively, showing a modification.

Referring to Figs. 1-3 of the drawings, the mining machineshown includesa main traveling unit I provided with a main rotary cutting wheel II,and a loader unit I2 articulated to the rear end of the main unit I llclose to said main wheel II, to receive cuttings discharged by said mainwheel II and provided with a transversely-operating loader conveyor I3and with a supplementary rotary cutting wheel I4 at a higher level thanthe main wheel I I.

The cutting wheels II, I4 extend uni-laterally with respect to the mainand loader units, are mounted for rotation about substantiallyhorizontal axes Il M respectively, and are arranged to cut the lowerportion and the upper portion, respectively, of a seam. The uppercutting wheel, i. e., the cutting wheel I4 of the loader unit, isvertically adjustable. This vertical adjustment of the cutting wheel I4may be conveniently attained by mounting the hori-= zontal shaft whichcarries this wheel I4 in an angularly adjustable swing arm I5 pivotallymounted on the superstructure of the loader unit.

, 2. Looking: transversely of the line.- of travel of the: machine,towards the mineral face, preferably the cutting wheel II rotatescounter-clockwise, and the cutting wheel I4 rotates clockwise, as shownin Fig. l.

The main unit I0 and the loader unit I2 may have separate driving motorsincorporated at 56, Il, respectively, in the respective units.Alternatively, the loader unit may be driven from a motor mounted at I8on the main um't above, (Figs. 4-6) or in side-by-side relation with,the motor I 6-0f the main unit.

The main unit I0 includes a haulage gear section I9, the driving motorsection I6, and a gearhead section 20, forming the forward,intermediate, and rear sections, respectively, of the main unit, thegear-head containing the necessary transmission gearing for driving themain cutting wheel II.

As shown in Figs. 1-3 the loader unit I2 is articulated at 2I to thegear-head structure. Alternatively, and as shown in Figs. 4-6, theloader unit may be articulated by means of an extension coupling bracket22 to the intermediate section I6 of the main unit, the coupling meanson the loader unit beingduplicated so that the machine may be operatedright-hand or left-hand as may be required.

The loader conveyor I3 may consist of a belt, worm, flight, scraperchain, or other type of conveyor, depending on circumstances.

Mineral cut by the cutting elements of the main cutting wheel I I ispushed by the moving cutting elements on to the adjacent lower end ofthe loader conveyor I3, and mineral cut by the supplementary cuttingwheel I4 drops downwardly on to the loader conveyor I3.

Provision may be made for extending the loader conveyor I3 in thedirection towards the usual face conveyor indicated at 23, it beingunderstood that the machine may be required to perform two or moretraverses of the face without transverse shift of the face conveyor.

Plough means indicated at 24 may be provided on the loader unit foreffecting removal of any ridges of mineral left on the mine floor in thewake of the main cutting wheel II.

Each cutting wheel consists of a plurality of discs strung in axiallyspaced relation on a driving shaft and armed peripherally with pick orlike cutting elements such as 25.

What is claimed is:

1. A longwall mining machine including a main traveling unit, a mainrotary cutting wheel comprising a plurality of discs armed peripherallywith cutting elements, said main cutting wheel being mounted on saidmain unit, and being rotatable about a substantially horizontal axis, aloader unit articulated to the rear end of said main unit close to saidmain wheel to receive cuttings discharged by said main wheel, and asupplementary rotary cutting wheel journaled in a and verticallyadjustable relatively to said loader unit at a higher level than saidmain cutting wheel and rotatable about a substantially horizontal axisparallel to said first mentioned axis, said supplementary cutting wheelcomprising a plurality of discs armed peripherally with cutting elementsand adapted to discharge its cuttings on to said loader unit.

2. A longwall mining machine as claimed in claim 1, in which separatedriving motors are incorporated in the main traveling unit.

3. A longwall mining machine as claimed in claim 1, in which a motormounted on the main traveling unit serves to drive the loader unit.

4. A longwall mining machine as claimed in claim 1, in which the maintraveling unit includes a haulage gear section, a driving motor section,and a gear-head section, forming the forward, intermediate, and rearsections respectively, of said main unit, and transmission gearingcontained in the gear-head serving to drive the main cutting wheel.

5. A longwall mining machine as claimed in claim 1, including ploughmeans for efiectlng removal of any ridges of mineral left on the minefloor in the wake of the main cutting wheel.

ALEXANDER ANDERSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis vpatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number

